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Friday, June 5, 2009

Nadal's Knee

Now, before I start, I'll be fair and say that maybe Nadal really is having a knee problem that he suffered from silently for months only to expose a day or two after losing at the French Open and thus tainting Soderling's victory. If that's the case I owe him an apology.But it should be noted that he might be less likely to be drug tested if he skips this tournament. Anyway, you have to admit that his whining about drug testing, coinciding with his losing 2 on clay and a claim of an injury that puts him out of a tournament where he would likely be drug tested has to at least make for the possibility that he is dropping out of it to avoid drug testing.

Update: I'm not sure if I pointed this out, but the only two out-of-competition drug tests that Nadal received last year were urine only. NO OUT OF COMPETITION BLOOD TESTS WERE PERFORMED on any player last year. We have not been told whether anyone tested positive for anything the entire year. We have not been told if anyone missed an out of competition test. We have not been told to what extent these out of competition urine tests were observed or whether the player just went into the bathroom and came out with a cup of urine.

27 comments:

I'm new to this blog and although I think you overstate your case quite often with some of your pictures, you nonetheless raise disturbing questions that require answers. Is it really possible that Serena Williams can only achieve that shape through steroids rather than gymn work? My gut feeling is that you are right but I would like to hear some more persuasive arguments than the pictorial ones you present.

I've always been suspicious of Nadal. I don't think it is just steroids. Look back to 2005 when he was still a teenager. He played a 5 set match against Federer in Miami, starting like a train and then, as you would expect, tiring. Federer won. He returned to Europe and could suddenly play 5 hour matches (such as the final in Rome) with titanic strength. How did he acquire this stamina that quickly? He was rumoured to be a client of Dr Fuentes but the Spanish government have actively hushed the whole affair up, so we will never know. (Fuentes said he "treated" tennis players and, perhaps the real reason for the reluctance of the Spanish to dig deeper, major soccer players.) But I suspect that steroids are just one of a number of drugs that are being abused in the sport.

Incidentally, it always amuses me that Arantxa Sanchez's sports doctor was the guy who prepared the great Miguel Indurain, a superb cyclist but like all superb cyclists, someone who had his own drug programme. Keep digging!

Fekete,Thanks for your comment. Personally, I doubt that it's possible to gain the muscle mass of Serena Williams without a little chemical help. It's hard to prove, since any woman that gets that big I personally would assume is using steroids, but even if a woman could potentially do that without steroids, could she do that and play hours of tennis each day? Even for men, that kind of muscular development requires hours of heavy lifting almost every day. In any case, have you ever seen a woman that muscular in your gym?I realize that steroids aren't the only drug problem in the sport. Many players have been caught using other performance enhancing drugs. The reason I focus on steroids is that it is much easier to spot the results. It is also easier for players to cheat with steroids and perhaps EPO derivatives, because you don't have to take them on the day of the match to get results.As to your point about my overstating the case, I think you have a certain point. The pictures of players that I post seem suspicious to me for steroid use, but I am seeing that others are not as easily convinced.

My god man, I surely wish Nadal gets to read your rubbish and sues the living daylights out of you. Why not say that Soderling must have been drugged in order to stand a chance against Nadal. It is people like you with their backstabbing insinuations that are a disgrace to mankind. Your vitriol smells like cheap paperazzi journalism, except for the fact you don't step out in the daylight on your motorbike but remain in the safe obscurity of your internet pot hole. Your kind make me sick.

I googled the blind item. Nike and the rest of Nadal's sponsors need to do some type of pr because it's all Nadal, even some Nadal fans are copping to it. Of course some of his fans (you can tell by their icons and OMG NO not rafa comments before naming another name)are just saying other names.

One issue with this post - I was a volunteer at a US tennis tournament, and I was briefly tasked with following players while they gave their urine sample. We were given instructions a little bit more detailed than watch "whether the player just went into the bathroom and came out with a cup of urine" - we weren't even the drug test staff and we had to follow the player EVERYWHERE because they were tested right after they lost. The test staff were in the bathroom with them - a locker room bathroom, and so was I. I was instructed not to leave their side until they peed in a cup.

I agree with others - you have good points, but my firsthand experience contradicts your statement, and that hurts your credibility. Granted, maybe other tournaments are run differently, but it was far from just collecting a cup someone handed off.

Robyn,I am referring here to non-competition urine screens at a player's home. Have you been to a player's home for a test as well? I am quoting Venus Williams who said, "They just hand you a cup." If anyone knows first-hand how things are done off-site, please chime in.It's good to hear first hand what is done at a tournament, though and you are saying that you observe it first hand, correct? (I'm assuming you are female, by the way). This is one of the reasons that I think that players will often skip tournaments. They are tested more stringently.

Yes, I'm female and was assigned based on gender to specific female players. I have not been to any player's homes as I was a volunteer, not on any testing staff, so I can't speak for that and it wasn't clear to me that you meant only at-home tests.

I will say that two of the players did their best to try to "lose" me in crowds between the courts and locker room at that event. I don't know if it was a game to them or what - but they didn't succeed. This site made me think of them and that incident since they are both featured in several of your posts.

Robyn,My suspicion has been that they aren't really tested stringently except at tournaments (if that), although I wasn't sure what happened at tournaments. To be blunt, do you actually observe them peeing? Also, do you know what happens if a player is "injured" in a tournament? Can they take off without being tested? Do they know after which match they will be tested, etc. If you can find out what happens when players are tested at home, please let me know. Basically, I'm trying to find out whether they are actually observed peeing at home tests. If not, then the testing is bogus, in my opinion. Also, if you have any information about whether players are refusing at-home tests (they are allowed to miss a few) and what exactly happens at that point. Anyway, e-mail me at tennisroids@gmail.com if you have any information about this or you know someone who might.Thanks

You really don't understand an what a statistical outlier is do you? Because no women at my gym look like Serena, she must be on steroids... Good thinking. I've never ran into someone over 7 feet tall, thus the romanian farmer who made it to 8 feet 2 inches must have used drugs to achieve such height.

I hope you realize how flawed your logic is. If you are going to rely simply on circumstantial evidence you could at least do a better job. Perhaps show pictures of Serena before and after steroids (wait you won't cause she has always been fairly muscular).

Fact is some people are born with three arms, genetic variation causes some strange phenotypes, compared to the genetic anomalies that exist Serenas muscles are not hard to believe at all.

So because Nadal, in 2005, couldn't keep up with Federer and a year later he could he's on steroids?? Or because he's fit and has the best work ethic out there he is doping??

What about Federer? He's been on top for over 4 years. How does he maintain this ability? Ohhh, that's right he's on steroids too. I mean no one else hits a one handed backhand like he does. It takes unbelievable strength and will to be able to do so so it HAS to be drugs. He must be using judging by the comments/arguments posted here.

Hmmm. . .that means Roddick is too because last season he did not have the stamina to play five sets and this season he can. So in one year he miraculously became fit enough to out last opponents. It couldn't be hard work and dedication, no it must be steroids. Then there's his serve. How does a man serve as hard and fast as he does? Again steroids.

I workout 5 days a week and I see women like Serena. Not quite as fit but could be if their training was as intense as the Williams sisters. I am almost 6' tall and a woman. I could be their size if I trained like them. I have the body type. My old roommate who is over 6' and a former heptathlete (7 events) and she could power lift more most men I know. She never even considered drugs to advance herself and she was always highly ranked but could enough to go to the Olympics.

All these athletes could be using, anything is possible but the arguments on this site in favour of Nadal using are probably just Federer fans looking for a way to bring Nadal down.

As a Nadal fan, who loves his passion, I would be heart broken but never surprised. Although you are talking about someone who is so humble that his personality contradicts most steroid users making it hard to believe. He's aggressive yes, but do you see all the other symptoms of steroid user? I don't and until I do and it's proven that he is a user I will go on believing that he is living proof of what dedication, passion and hard work can do.

All of these athletes are incredible and have unbelievable talent, most especially Federer, who I can't stand.

I just want to add an angle to the story which is that there is no way a tennis player themselves would do all the covert running around necessary to dope. So if they are they must have trusted help. Someone in their 'entourage'.

My mates and I played a fun game at the Wimbledon just gone which was to spot the players dealer amongst their crew.

It was easy to spot the trainer as they invariably wore sports clothes, and the parents so always ... who is the guy dressed in the flashy suit looking a bit sus ... a THE DEALER! Or is it manager :)

Roddick's was really obvious.

And one thing in Federer's favour is that he doesn't have an entourage and has changed coaches like every 6 months so no way would he be doping on a stolen credit card himself.

Let me clear one thing up, I am somone who has trained since I was 18 (I am 30 now). Thoughout my training I have met more individuals who take steriods than most people will in a lifetime.One of my friends is also a senior scientist who develops drugs for GSK, and for that you require a post grad PHD in science so he knows his stuff. Both of are county level players (we met playing tennis) who have discussed the above situation regarding Nadal to come up with a really obvious answer.Look at Nadals body shape when he was 19, unless he was training since he was 5 that cannot be achieved.There are several physical key indicators from steriod use, my friend said he displays four of them (eyes, veins, checkbones and facial expressions).People can talk about training blah blah blah but in reality most people just talk, umless you have done it and achieved a certain level with the correct eating (and without steriods), protien etc you are basically talking out of your arse.I dont tell laywers how to practice, why... because I am not one...simple eh?Also I may be pointing out the obvious but knowone seems to have clocked, look at his body shape now........ta da his arms are at least four inches smaller and where are the protruding veins?

Look at Nadal's physique at and before the 2009 French Open and compare it to his physique at the 2009 US OPEN. The difference in the body types are pronounced and reek of an athlete that has stopped taking steriods, human growth hormone, etc. The loss of muscle mass and weight is dramatic and is ever so similar to what happened to the hundreds of baseball players who "slimmed down" after Major League Baseball began testing for performance enhancing drugs. Look at Nadal's demeanor. It is different now. He had the eyes of someone with steroid rage the past two years. The problem is tennis doesn't perform random blood tests. And, probably similar to major league baseball, the athletes are provided lists of the drugs that will be screened and their high paid chemists then create or find a potion that is not on the banned list. It is a game. I suspect Nadal was caught red handed and the sport of tennis did not want the bad publicity and told him to come up with an injury and take time off to clean up his body......Ex Pro Athlete

Seriously, haven't you guys read about Dr. Fuentes? He was caught in a mega-doping network scandal in Spain. Spanish cyclists were all caught. But Dr. Fuentes has a list of more than 200 clients. Only 30 were reported and punished.

In an interview, he was upset as he said that tennis players and footballers were the majority of his clients, but no one is coming out about that... Moreover, his wife said that during the Barcelona Olympics in 92, he was heavily involved.

Finally, Le Monde reported that they have documents from Dr. Fuentes home that show that several footballers from Real Madrid and Barcelona, during the 2005-2006 season were being blood doped and steroid dopped (in cycles) by Dr. Fuentes... The goal of Barcelona FC was the champions league. Curiously, after he was caught in 2006, the next year, Barcelona didn't do so well, and they sold their 3 main stars...

The Le Monde report also says Rafael Nadal's name was in that list. It is not improbable that he is using EPO or some other smart blood doping techniques... I should say, the doping can be very subtle. It might give you that extra humpf in the fifth set that can push you to a win. Or it can make your body pains lessen, a very important trait in a guy who plays force-tennis like Nadal... His tennis motions are all akward ...

Instead of criticizing this blog, why not demand blood tests from tennis players? Or else, accept that doping is going on, and not get bother by it...

I am sitting here at home, watching Rafa and Soderling slug away at each other in the ATP finals(London), Soderling just took the 1st, and I can't help but wonder if that would have been possible two yrs ago? The subject of Nadal's diminishing musculature prompted me to google "nadal steroids." your blog was at the top of the list. I am a lifelong player, and spend hundreds of hrs a year watching tv coverage (God, there is alot of it now), and I have to admit, I feel great anxiety in anticipation of what I'm convinced will be a performance-inhancing drug cataclysm in pro tennis. My tennis friends and I talk about this often, and the consensus is almost universal: Nadal's muscle mass is significantly less than it was in '08 and before, and his game is nowhere near as dominant as it was then. add to that the myriad astonishing physiques, on the women's side in particular, and you have many more questions than answers.

I hate to say it, but the issue must be pressed. Keep up the good work.

I was just curious "Tennis has a steroid problem" if you are a physically fit person yourself or just an avid tennis watcher. I just ask because anyone who actually transforms their body by lifting weights is ALLOT more defined and larger than Nadal. Nadal is fit, and his is lean, those are all YES, but he is also 6' and 165 lbs! If that is the frame of a man on roids than he needs to get a better supply. Serena Williams out-weighs him by almost 30 pounds. There are HUNDREDS more images with Nadal shirtless than the one you posted and he consistently has the body of a 16 year old boy. There is no chest definition to speak of, no shoulders, lats, or even abs. The man is skinny with above average biceps for a TENNIS player! Remember that, for a TENNIS player. And even with that being said, his biceps are a MAX 15" diameter. That is NOT mass by any mean. Most of the females you have on this page have more masculine bodies than him.

Is he on a PED or blood doping - possibly

Is he on ROIDS - no

ANYONE MALE SKINNIER THAN VENUS WILLIAM IS NOT ON ROIDS. SORRY TO BREAK YOUR CONSPIRACY.

This guy is the type of guy to post a bunch of naked guys with 10 inch dicks and then his own 2 inch in order to accuse the 10 inchers that they are on some type of enhancement drug. They have to be, right? After all, you weren't blessed.

According to Greg Rusedski, who tested positive for the banned steroid Nandrolone in July 2003, many tennis players have shown high levels in their body. Who are these alleged tennis players? Why does not the public have open access to player test results? Why doesn't the ATP or any of the Networks that carry tennis even address the issue of drugs in tennis? These are questions that need to be answered.

Dope testing needs to be refined and increased in tennis. Five of the 14 side effects of steroids list marked muscular hypertrophy, male pattern baldness, increased susceptibility to tendon injuries, disproportionate development of upper torso, aggressive behavior. I am generally naive, but noticing Nadal's extremely thin top hair at the US Open surprised me. This led me to question and research steroid effects Tennis is becoming a smash battle. I could see how juicing would be tempting.

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From what I've seen of it, I actually think it gives a pretty decent articulation of the worst-case scenario. But it cherry-picks things to support its particular theory, and ignores things that don't fit.-ESPN sportswriter, Kamakshi Tandon, expressing her opinion of this blog

"She kind of has, like, almost the game of a man. That's what it feels like."-Jelena Jankovic describing Samantha Stosur's masculine approach to the game of tennis.

"Players can use short-acting steroids in combination with human growth hormone which will produce muscle mass and enormous power, and while they can stop just before a competition and test clean, they still get the performance benefit of the drugs" Former chief executive of the Australian Sports Drug Agency, John Mendoza, 2002, claiming that tennis was approaching a crisis.

"To say that tennis today is clean, you have to be living in a dream world."Nicolas Escude, French Davis Cup player, 2002

[Former number 1, Marcelo] Rios thinks that the ATP protects Agassi of doping "I know that if nandrolone were found on Agassi, they would not disclose it. He is a very prominent, very popular player and if he were to fall, the world of tennis would fall with him." The Chilean remembered a case in Australia 2002 "where there was a control and Agassi disappeared, saying that they were going to kidnap his son..."

Also,

"Suspicion among the other players had long been rife that he [Agassi] may have used some substances to help him become one of the fittest and strongest guys around, although there was never any proof. There were some dubious circumstances, none more than his early-morning withdrawal from the defence of his title at the 2002 Australian Open, citing a wrist injury."

-Former Wimbledon champion, Pat Cash

"The ATP also suffers from a dilemma. Imagine if Federer or Nadal were caught doping. I probably would not suspend them, because they are too important. But where is the line?"- Former Pro Andrei Medvedev

Pictures used on this noncommercial blog are for editorial purposes only, to allow for opinions regarding particular tennis players' use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. The photos are cropped and of lower resolution than the fine originals, but are never photoshopped or otherwise altered.

"A site created by Don Quixote followed by numerous Sancho Pansas fighting windmills...."-From a commenter

"...in this steroid era we have lived in for the last decade or so, it has become wise for us in the media, to at least be wary of a player such as Nadal, who is so cut, so ripped, so buff for a tennis player, because we’ve never seen a good tennis player with that kind of physique."

"I can definitely say the same thing [discussing Steffi Graf’s claim that she had played against at least one top player who used steroids]. Steroids can really make a difference, physically and mentally. I’d be really disappointed if I had been ranked No. 2 behind someone who took steroids."-Chris Evert 1992

"Someone tried to get in the development, doing a drug test," [Venus] Williams said. "If I wasn't tested in the next two hours, I wouldn't be playing on tour. You know, there's always someone at the gates, trying to get in. Normally, I tell the gate, 'Tell them Venus moved to Siberia some months ago.' "

... she had trouble with her password in the computerized system overseen by the World Anti-Doping Agency. She also said registered mail at her home could not be signed off on since she was traveling to WTA tournaments.- Yanina Wickmayer explains (in a dog ate my homework kind of way) why she was unavailable for mandatory drug testing.